A red-sand desert of sandstone mountains
Wadi Rum is a protected desert of red sand, natural arches and sandstone and granite mountains rising sheer from the valley floor. T. E. Lawrence passed through during the Arab Revolt, and the landscape has since stood in for Mars on film. Bedouin guides run jeep and camel trips to rock bridges, canyons with ancient Nabataean and Thamudic inscriptions, and dunes. Stay overnight in a desert camp for a zarb meal cooked underground and some of the clearest night skies in the region.